Randy Yang, born in 1993, grew up surrounded by user interfaces at the computer desk and tangled signal and power cables behind the TV cabinet. His work explores the networks created by the interactions between objects, and between objects and people within a space, focusing on the transduction of energy, audience intervention in exhibition spaces, and the media archaeology that informs his creative process. He refers to his works as "Sound Oriented Dynamic Devices." These self-made kinetic structures, combined with sensor modules, deliberately challenge the modern pursuit of technological efficiency by embracing obsolete media and unconventional approaches. Through noise, short circuits, and audience interaction, he resists, disrupts, and circumvents the instantaneous responses that modern technology imposes on the body.
In addition to participating in various group and solo exhibitions, Randy worked as an assistant in the studio of artist Wu Tien-chang from 2019 to 2021. From 2017 to 2018, he served as an alternative military service member at the Siao-Long Cultural Park in Tainan, interacting with artists from various regions. In 2018, he worked as an assistant to foreign curators at the Tainan International Foto Festival. In 2023, he received the "13th New York Travel Grant" from the School of Fine Arts, Taipei National University of the Arts, allowing him to conduct creative research in New York.
EDUCATION:
2024 Taipei National University of the Arts /Master of Fine Arts
2017 Taipei National University of the Arts /Bachelor of Fine Arts
SOLO EXHIBITION:
2024 「STYLUS」, Hong Foundation, Taipei City, Taiwan
2023 「Randy 14」, Hsinchu 241 Art Space, Hsinchu City, Taiwan
2021 「Echo Next Door - Randy Yang Solo Show」, FreeS Art Space, Taipei City, Taiwan
2016 「Dr. Instead Westepfoward & Randy」, TNUA South North Gallery, Taipei City, Taiwan
GROUP EXHIBITION:
2024 「Lighting Eaves」, Unique Antique, Chiayi City, Taiwan
2024 「Next Art Tainan - Artcross the Univers」, Aglow Art Space, Tainan City, Taiwan
2023 「2023 Kaohsiung Award」, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
2021 「2021 Kaohsiung Award」, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
2020 「TDCC Contemporary Arts Award」, Taipei Artist Village, Taipei City, Taiwan
2020 「Not in this image」, Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei City, Taiwan
2019 「The 2nd Contemporary Sculpture Lih Pao Prize」, TNUA Underround Gallery, Taipei City, Taiwan
2019 「Reverse, repeat, and rubbing」, Taipei City Arts Promotion Office, Taipei City, Taiwan
2019 「Sound Performance - Stage Pain」, Jiang Shan Yi Gai Suo, Hsinchu City, Taiwan
2018 「～～～: Journey, Crossing, Swaying」, Tamsui Customs Wharf, New Taipei City, Taiwan
2017 「Media Archeology: Indescribable of Life」, Our Museum, New Taipei City, Taiwan
2017 「《Gravity x Fuze x____》bang! 32nd TNUA BFA Graduation Exhibition」, TNUA Underground Gallery, Taipei City, Taiwan
2017 「Division of Reality」, Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei City, Taiwan
2016 「Xanadu Project II – A Place Without Boundaries」, TC Yachts, New Taipei City, Taiwan
2016 「Exhibition of KiKi, Randy, Blue Button」, TNUA South North Gallery, Taipei City, Taiwan
2015 「《Love is rice》32nd TNUA BFA Group Exhibition」, TNUA Underground Gallery, Taipei City, Taiwan
2015 「TNUA Fine Arts Department 29th Annual Exhibition - The Annual Exhibition」, TNUA Underground Gallery, Taipei City, Taiwan
WALKMENMORY
The show has been a process in constant transformation. The final title, Walkmenmory, grew out of Walkmem(mory)—a chimera-like fusion of the Walkman as the emblematic name for portable cassette players, memory, and modes of operation. By ultimately replacing “mem” with “men,” the focus shifts toward the importance of multiple participants, while still preserving the link to memory and to a defining product of consumer culture. Urban infrastructures, museum objects, things found on the street, second-hand electronics from flea markets, hardware megastores, and online shopping platforms—my residency in Munich began by gathering these materials, radiating outward from them as a starting point. Continuing my previous practice of using 3D printing, I dismantled outdated devices and reassembled their fragments into new forms. This process not only responds to my experience of living abroad but also reflects on the shifting realities of the world at large. In Walkmenmory, I present a series of modified cassette-based devices. Visitors are invited to take hold of the handles attached to them, moving the devices around as if walking a pet—or as if operating a kind of detector. The turning wheels drive the cassette hubs, so the tape moves forward or backward depending on the visitor’s pace. At the same time, the tape heads perform playback and recording simultaneously: whispers, the hum of air conditioning, hurried footsteps, even the faint buzz of electricity in the space are all captured and layered over the tape’s existing sounds. These sonic traces resemble fragmented memories—constantly overwritten by newer, more vivid impressions. Once they are no longer picked up by conscious thought, they remain only as incomplete phantoms, surfacing now and then in dreams.
駐村發表是一個不斷變動的過程。展名 Walkmenmory 最初源自 Walkmem(mory) ——一種將日系卡帶機的代表性名稱、記憶以及操作方法奇美拉式拼接的組合。最終我選擇以 “men” 取代 “mem”，以此強調複數觀眾參與的重要性，同時仍保留了與記憶以及劃時代消費者產品之間的連結。 城市基礎建設、博物館物件、街邊物件、跳蚤市場二手電器、大型五金建材百貨、網路購物——這次在慕尼黑的進駐經驗，從材料作為起始點開始輻射發展；並延續我在過往作品中使用3D列印的習慣，將拆解後的過時設備接合、重組為不同的樣貌。這既是對於自身這段異地經驗的回應，同時也是一種回看世界所發生種種的方式。 展覽 Walkmenmory 將呈現複數改造過的磁帶裝置，並在展覽中邀請觀眾抓起裝置的把手，像是遛寵物、又像是操作某種探測器般地移動它們。轉動的裝置輪軸將連動卡帶軸心，隨著觀眾的速度帶動磁條，觀眾們可以往前或往後操作。與此同時，卡帶機的磁頭將以讀取與錄製同步進行的方式，把環境中人們的交頭接耳、空調的轟鳴、急促的腳步，甚至電源的底噪一併網羅，覆蓋在磁帶原有的聲音資訊上。 這些聲音，就像腦海中斷續的記憶——被更新、更為鮮活的事件層層疊覆。當它們不再被清醒的意識拾起時，只能在夢境中，以不全的幽魂現身。
